March 31, 2017

Manchester Offers Free Tuition, Career Training

Ciara Knisely

Beginning next fall, Manchester University will employ a new system where tuition will be free to full-time students.

In order to account for the cost of tuition, students will take responsibility for all jobs on campus, including faculty and staff’s jobs, though students can only earn minimum wage. MU’s current tuition and fees are $41,540, meaning that students will be required to work an estimated 35 hours a day and attend class as usual, excluding weekends.

These changes mean that students will no longer need to borrow loans or receive financial aid, which benefits both students and the university.

Junior Sawyer Stefanatos expressed her financial struggles over the past year. “I noticed in my budget that food took up a lot of money, so I decided to stop eating,” she said. “Now when I’m hungry I go to the mall and find slow squirrels or small freshmen.” Sophomore Guerby Ruuska has his own strategy. “I saved money by replacing gas and using cow manure to power my car,” he said.

These common struggles with ideally be alleviated with the implementation of this system.

President David McFadden considers it a fantastic time-management strategy. “It’s short-term pain for a long-term result,” he stated, noting how students will learn how to properly manage their time in order to be hyper-efficient. This system will help students maximize their time down to the minute, while still saving money. Additionally, campus will experience complete power outages two days a week to help balance the budget, but students will be so busy that it shouldn’t be any inconvenience, according to Cindy Seitz, director of Financial Services.

During days of power outages, Seitz suggests students stay productive by pondering life’s big questions, relearning the state capitals, helping the squirrels on campus gather nuts, and knitting hats and blankets with Knitting Club for cold nights without power.

An important aspect of this plan is that students will be teaching each course to fellow students. “The best way to learn something is to teach it,” McFadden said. Seitz agreed. “At Manchester we educate the whole person,” she said. “This experience will add a new dimension to our students’ education!”

Juniors and Seniors will be given priority to teach courses in their respective majors. As an added bonus, students will also receive double the credit for the classes they teach, which will help them graduate even faster, McFadden said.

“I see a lot of students walking and texting,” McFadden continued. “Now, students can walk and text and teach at the same time.” He expects to see lectures happening on the sidewalk while students head toward their next lecture.

Stefanatos feels qualified for the task. “Just because we don’t have graduate degrees or professional training doesn’t mean we can’t be great professors,” she said. “Students taking charge of their education is the key to our success here at Manchester. Please sign up for my course next year, Cash Me Outside: A Tutorial in Environmentalism.”

Ruuska agrees: “I think having students as professors will tighten the relationships.”

To adjust to this new system, McFadden suggests lots of coffee and 5-hour Energy drinks to stay awake for the full 35 hours a day. “I can always tell I’ve had too much coffee if my lips get numb,” he advises.